


Tough Love

by therealassistant



Series: DRV3 Remnants of Despair au [6]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gen, I think????, Like god, No Anime Brainwashing We Despair Like Real Men, One sided, a bit of gore near the end, abuse tw, but it's not that bad, kaito has a potty mouth and cusses like a sailor, remnants au, tenko drives me crazy, tenko pls...... chill, the relationship is kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-10 14:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11693337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therealassistant/pseuds/therealassistant
Summary: Ever since Tenko was little, she could never trust those "awful boys". In hindsight, though, maybe girls were just as awful.





	Tough Love

**Author's Note:**

> I actually looked up aikido for this fic, and it was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. While this did take a lot more work than the latest fics, I hope you all can still enjoy it! Anyway, let's just head on to the disclaimers.
> 
> I don't own Danganronpa in any way, shape, or form (besides the few games I play) so please don't sue me.

If there was one thing Tenko knew she was good at, it was aikido. Even the memory of her father's raspy, alcohol laden breath yelling insults at her usually didn't discourage her when she was doing her aikido training. From meditating to gymnastics, she had little doubt in her ability to do either thing.

So when she was worried about her friend's well being, there was really only one thing she could do.

Sit down in her dorm room and meditate.

Yeah, it usually didn't get anything done, but it was better than aimlessly walking around the school without any sense of direction. Besides, meditating helped her calm down so she could think, since she was kind of prone to acting without thinking. Well, according to Himiko at least.

The very thought of Himiko caused an uncharacteristic frown to appear on Tenko's face as she sat down in her room, looking down at the ground instead of forward even if her eyes were yet to be shut. Usually, Himiko was calm and relaxed, but lately, she seemed more energetic. Himiko was indeed lazy most of the time, and while that wasn't a good thing, she was never really cruel or demeaning like she was now.

_(She's changed, just like your father did. Just like your brother did. Soon, she's going to end up hurting you too.)_

Tenko almost gasps in horror at her own thoughts, yet forces herself to remain silent, shaking her head before folding her hands together. No, Himiko wasn't an awful boy, so there's no way she would turn out like any of them. Besides, she's just too nice for that... Himiko wouldn't hurt a fly.

Slowly, she took a deep, long breath, just as her master had instructed her to do multiple times, before breathing out, allowing all her thoughts and worries to escape.

She stopped thinking about how some of her classmates were disappearing. Even if Kiibo was an awful boy, she still kind of hoped he would come back safe.

She stopped worrying about Himiko's sudden personality change. How Himiko's usually monotone voice could hold such malice, Tenko would never know.

She forced her jealousy over Himiko hanging out with that upperclassman to leave her. Himiko could hang out with that pink haired girl all she wants, even if the other didn't seem like a good influence.

For just a minute or so, Tenko's mind was a blank slate.

And then the door to her dorm room bursts open, quickly followed by her roommate's almost obnoxious cackles.

Usually, she could ignore the door slamming open and her roommate's strange behavior, but today, she couldn't help herself from opening one eye to glance up at her roommate in mild annoyance. "... Is something wrong, Iruma?"

The inventor's smile grew wide at Tenko's question, slamming whatever was in her hands down on her workbench in the corner of the room before turning to Tenko, her hands at her hips as she smirked. "Oh, nothing, unless you think Shuichi and Kaito being around outside the girl's dorm rooms again is a problem. Oh! Or my brilliant intellect!"

Tenko shut her eye once again as she sighed, humming in acknowledgment as she folded her hands over her lap once again. It wasn't unusual for Iruma to boast about her intelligence, so there was really...

This time, both of Tenko's eyes snapped open as she realized what Iruma had said.

Both Kaito and Shuichi in the girl's dorms? At night? She could expect this from Kaito, but Shuichi? She knew he was an awful boy, but she thought he was better than that.

Guess not, then again, at this point, she was starting to think she wasn't good at judging other people's character.

She almost falls over as she shot up, grabbing Iruma's shoulders, nearly shaking the other girl as she yelled. "This has happened before?! ... Wait, you saw them, and didn't stop them?!"

Iruma's face goes from pride to fear in an instant, holding up her hands to protect her face from Tenko as she stammered out some words. "Th-They aren't going to do anything, I swear! I-I even saw them with that fashion chick and that fucking side chick you always have-"

Tenko doesn't even allow Iruma to finish that sentence, already running out the door and down the hallway. She nearly runs into the door leading to the staircase, but stops at the last second to slam the door open, not even bothering to shut it behind her.

She just has to get outside first, she didn't care how or why, she just had to.

She had to save Himiko from those awful boys.

###### 

The old woman is about to turn off the lights to her dojo when the front door suddenly bursts open, nearly scaring her out of her wits.

She doesn't notice the keys that were in her hands slipping out of her grasp until they slam into the polished wooden floor, a gasp resounding across the room, followed by quiet whimpering. "I'-I'm sorry, Tenko didn't mean to..."

The old lady shakes her head as she waves off the intruder's words, bending down quickly to pick the keys off the ground. "Oh, no, it's perfectly fine dear. You just startled me, that's all." She smiles towards the door, finally looking towards the drenched child standing on the carpet in front of the door. She almost frowns, though, once she notices that the "intruder" wasn't wearing a rain coat, just some boots that were drenched in mud, as well as the rest of her outfit, which consisted of some worn out jeans and a simple shirt. "Oh, you poor child! What were you doing out in that weather? You could have caught a cold, or something much worse..."

At first, she wonders whether or not she said the right thing as the silence stretches on, before the child sniffed, trying to rub the mud off her face as she mumbled. "I-I couldn't grab a c-c-coat... I just ran away from Daddy as fast as Tenko could, like big brother told me..." Eventually, the child, who she assumed was named Tenko, gave up on trying to clean her face, lowering her hands back at her side as she stared down at the ground. "Tenko will leave right now, if that's what you want..."

The old woman doesn't say anything in response for a few minutes, simply staring down at the child in front of her. A disgusted look came over the woman's face, remembering her own "charming" husband and how he had acted towards her during their marriage, and even before their marriage.

All too quickly, the disgusted look on the old woman's face disappears, a sigh leaving her mouth as she shakes her head, before finally looking back towards Tenko. A warm smile worked its way onto the woman's face as she spoke, "Oh no, it's fine. Here, how about I take you over to my place for the night. How does that sound?"

Tenko stares up at the old woman in something akin to shock, before a wide grin spread across her face, nearly jumping in place as he nodded. "Yes! Tenko would love that Miss..." A look of embarrassment appeared on the child's face as she looked down at the ground, rubbing the tips of her muddy shoes against the ground as she asked, "... Tenko's sorry for not asking, but what is your name, Miss?"

A chuckle left the old woman's mouth as she once again waved off Tenko's apology, that soft smile remaining on her face as she spoke. "Oh, it's perfectly fine dear, just call me Master."

###### 

Once Tenko finally gets to the outside world, she stops, catching her breath as she looks around the front of the building. She's about to yell out Himiko's name until she sees a blur of purple and red in the distance.

It takes her only a second to realize the blurs are Himiko and Kaito, and only another second to run over to both of them.

She isn't that far away when she finally hears the ultimate astronaut's yells, or to see his hands wavering towards Himiko in an aggressive fashion. Usually, that would cause her to fight Kaito in an instance, yet today just seemed to be full of surprises for the ultimate aikido master.

For Himiko was just acting like her usual self, even shuffling a deck of cards in her hand as she seemed to mumble out replies, shrugging her shoulders here and there. 

She wasn't afraid, and this caused Tenko to hesitate from attacking the other only a short distance away from him.

Unfortunately, in her hesitation, she seemed to attract the would be astronaut's attention, who gave a sigh in relief as he glanced behind him to see Tenko. "Oh thank god, am I glad to see you..!" He mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head, glancing off to the side a bit as he did. "Well, not really, but you're better than nothing..."

Tenko pretended that she didn't hear what Kaito had said, scowling as she raised her hands into fighting position, glaring at the purple haired teen as she almost yelled. "Tenko doesn't care about your problems! I just want to know what you're doing with Himiko..!"

"O-Oh, uhm..." Kaito glances behind him towards the magician, going silent for a few minutes as he seemed to gather his thoughts, before turning back around to face Tenko. "Well... You see-"

"And why do you need to know?"

Both Tenko and Kaito froze up completely at the sudden voice, before glancing down at the source of it. Unsurprisingly, Tenko was the more surprised of the two once they realized who had spoken, even gasping a bit. After all, Himiko's voice was usually monotone and lazy sounding, not filled with a hidden sense of malice. It almost caused a jolt to go through Tenko as she tried to find the right words to say, slowly getting out of her fighting stance as she pressed her fingers together in embarrassment. "W-Well... Tenko just thought that you were in trouble since you were getting dragged around by those awful boys..."

Himiko doesn't say anything for a few minutes, simply staring at Tenko in this strange sense of shock, before she suddenly laughs. Not her usual quiet, almost awkward giggle that Tenko grew to love, but full blown laughter, tears coming to the magician's eyes. Tenko could only stare at the magician in shock, unable to say anything at all, although Kaito only gave another frustrated sigh as he waved towards Himiko. "See what I mean?! She's been acting like this since she met that fucking model! She's even asking me for the info so she can pass it along to her! Can you believe this shit?!"

Tenko doesn't react to Kaito's yelling, even if she could hear him and understand what he was saying, simply staring in disbelief at her friend in complete silence, trying to figure out what happened to Himiko to turn her into this.

That's when what Kaito said finally seemed to click.

She quickly turned to Kaito, grabbing her classmate's shoulder, shaking him as she nearly yelled. "W-Wait, is this model that you're talking about Junko Enoshima?"

Kaito roughly pulled Tenko's hand off his shoulder, shaking his head a bit before scowling up at her. "Of course I'm talking about Junko fucking Enoshima! Who else could I be talking about?!"

"... Hey, you shouldn't talk about Junko like that..." 

Tenko and Kaito immediately froze up once that monotone voice reached their ears, a look of fear coming over Tenko's face as she slowly turned to face Himiko. She almost ran away once she saw the glare in the magician's eyes, her face, for once, holding nothing but pure and raw anger. She could barely speak, only managing to stutter out a sorry excuse of a sentence. "... H-Himiko... Tenko thinks that... Y-You shouldn't be friends w-with Junko anymore..."

"... And why not?"

"... B-Because... Because she isn't good for you-"

Tenko is quickly cut off by a sharp, high pitched laugh, almost causing her to jump in shock. This time, though, it's Kaito that freezes up completely , his eyes going wide once he sees the faintest outline behind Himiko. It's not that long before Kaito and Tenko can make out more than just the outline of the person, simply watching as the person with strawberry blond hair walked closer and closer.

###### 

"Master, why do you fight?"

The old woman was caught off guard by the question, not even bothering to remind her young student that they were supposed to remain silent while meditating. Instead, the old woman slowly opens her eyes, looking down at Tenko for a few minutes in silence before finally speaking. "... Tenko, you know that aikido isn't about fighting others, it's about-."

Tenko quickly nods, finally opening her eyes to face her master as she sighs. "I know, I know, it's about building mental strength..." She withers a bit at the tired look on her master's face, forcing a sheepish smile onto her own face as she pushes her fingers together. "Sorry... It's just that..." Once again, Tenko looks down, her smile disappearing as she thought in silence for a few seconds, before finally speaking. "Tenko wanted to learn how to use aikido to protect my brother, but after yesterday, when he..."

An understanding look came over the old woman's face as she recalled what had happened the night before. How Tenko had barged into her home, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed about how her brother had finally caved under their father's demands. How her brother attempted to hit her to prove he was the "man of the house", yet was only thrown across the room by her in response. How she barely escaped the house alive with only a few belt marks across her arm to show.

The old woman glanced down at the child's arm, now covered in bandages, a disgusted look coming over her face at the thought of what was underneath them, before she waves off Tenko's words, as if to dispel the sudden unseen tension in the room. "I understand, dear. You don't have to say anymore."

Even if her words were not cruel sounding or demeaning in anyway, tears started to leave the girl's eyes. "I-I don't know wh-what to do anymore..! T-Tenko doesn't know who to protect anymore..!" The old woman is shocked into silence, allowing the only sounds in the dojo to be Tenko's crying and the faint sound of rain outside.

It doesn't take long for the old woman to finally speak, gently placing a reassuring hand on Tenko's back as she softly spoke. "... You could always protect the ones you love..."

Tenko froze up, her cries suddenly stopping, before she slowly looked up towards the old woman, her bottom lip almost quivering as she spoke. "B-But Master... You don't need to be p-protected..."

The old woman simply chuckles, shaking her head as she gently ruffles Tenko's hair. "Oh, I don't know dear, I'm getting quite senile for my age... I could always use a bodyguard..." The old woman pretends to be in deep thought as she hums softly, tilting her head to the side a bit as she continued to mess with Tenko's hair. "... Hm... How about you stay with me until I get my strength back..?"

Tenko is about to remove the hand on her head until the older woman's words finally seem to register, her eyes going wide as she stares up at her master. "... Do you mean it..?" 

The old woman simply has to nod, unable to say a word as Tenko suddenly tackles her master into a hug, nodding quickly as she nearly yells. "Yes! Tenko would love to stay with you Master!"

###### 

"So, you're this "Tenko" person Himiko's always talkin' about, right?"

Tenko is unable to speak, or rather, she couldn't speak even if she wanted to. As she stares at Junko Enoshima, she feels as if the woman had someone close up her throat, barely allowing the aikido master to breath.

Kaito, though, didn't seem to share this feeling.

"You bitch! What the fuck did you do to my friend?"

Junko actually seemed to show genuine confusion at Kaito's outburst, a hand going to her chin as she swung side to side, as if she could simply fall over from a strong breeze. "... You mean Shuichi, right? I just told him to go back to his dorm room. I don't see why you're so upset-"

"That's not what I meant! Why the hell is he suddenly a fucking psychopath?!"

"..." Junko simply shrugs, an exhausted sigh leaving her mouth as she glanced down at Himiko. "Damn, is he always this annoying..? We should go back to bed before he asks us anything else, Himiko..." 

The magician simply nods in response, not showing any reaction to Kaito's growing anger, who's face was slowly turning red as his voice got louder. She simply turned around, waving lazily behind her, yet she only manages to take a single step before Tenko's voice rings out through the darkness, somehow cutting through Kaito's yells. "H-Himiko, wait!"

Surprisingly, Himiko freezes up, looking behind her with cold, red eyes that nearly pierced Tenko. Yet the aikido master continued to speak, despite the fashionista's quiet, frustrated groan. "P-Please, you need to stop hanging out with that... That witch! She's not good for you, Himiko, she's-"

"And how do you know what's good for her?"

Tenko, as well as Kaito, surprisingly, immediately shut their mouths at Junko's harsh accusation, Tenko's eyes growing wide as she slowly turns to face the strawberry blond girl. "... W-What do you... Y-You..."

"Don't say it's "because you love her", too, because you don't even know whether or not she loves you back."

Tenko's face immediately goes from pale to a dark pink, not even bothering to ask how Junko got that sort of information, not noticing how Kaito looked away in shame. She only focused on the young woman in front of her and the magician next to her. Although her gaze was intense, though, no words left Tenko's mouth.

Surprisingly, it was Himiko that spoke next, a scoff leaving her mouth as she turned away from Tenko once again, walking back towards the dorm room building as she spoke. "Who would ever love such an awful, annoying, overbearing person like you, Tenko?"

###### 

The old woman does not move from her spot on the ground once she hears the front door of her dojo being slowly opened, her eyes remaining shut as she gave a deep, almost disappointed sigh. "... I am surprised that you didn't come here sooner."

The person that entered the dojo doesn't respond, only continuing to stand on the carpet in front of the door, staring down at the all too familiar mud stains on it. They could faintly see some sort of drawing in the mud. Of what, they couldn't tell. A horse, maybe? Or possibly a bear? Who would know, the person that made that mud drawing was dead.

Slowly, the old woman finally looks up, although it's not towards the front door, but at the window towards her side. A faint smile appeared on her face as she once again sighs, yet not in disappointment this time, but in sadness. "Ah, it's even raining now as well, just like that night all those years ago... All that's left is for me to pretend I dropped my keys..." She searches the pockets of her uniform for only a moment, before shaking her head, groaning in frustration before pointing towards the desk next to the front door. "Oh, could you be a dear and grab my keys? They're in the same spot they're always in..."

"..." To the old woman's surprise, the person on the carpet complied, bare feet quietly, almost silently, tapping against the ground as they walked towards the desk. They opened one of the many drawers decorating the desk, finding the correct drawer on their firs try, taking the gigantic key ring out of it before quickly shutting the drawer, then walking towards the old woman.

Once they were close enough, they kneeled down in front of the old woman, holding the keys out to her. The old woman simply shook her head, pushing the keys back towards her visitor as she smiled warmly. "Oh no, it's fine, you can keep them. You should lock up after you're finished here..." Curiosity appeared on the old woman's face as she crossed her arms, an almost childish pout appearing on her face as she eyed the person in front of her. "... You are here to kill me, aren't you?"

Her visitor simply nodded in response, causing the old woman to give an almost sad sigh, nodding her head as she bowed her head. "... I see... Then I should probably apologize for not getting you out of there sooner. I was a fool for thinking your living situation would get better..."

"..." Once again, the visitor said nothing as they slowly stood, a smirk appearing on their face once they were back on their feet, shaking their head as they raised the set of keys above their head, the key rings clicking against their gloved hands as they spoke. "It's fine, Master, it just makes this much easier."

Before the old woman has a chance to respond, the keys all too quickly come down on her head, the sharp end penetrating her skull easily. The only thing she could manage to do in the end was shut her eyes, allowing a numbing sensation to take over as her student, or more like her daughter, killed her with ease.

The visitor watches in silence as the old woman's body slumps to the ground, leaving the keys in her skull. It doesn't take that long for the silence to break, though, as the walkie-talkie on her belt springs to life. "... Master, it's time to move, we're ready."

The visitor nods, even if no one could see them, grabbing the walkie-talkie off their belt as they turned, responding as they walked towards the exit. "Go ahead, I'll be able to catch up with you in a few minutes."

They do not even allow the person on the other side to respond, turning the device off as they stood in front of the door. The visitor glances behind them, watching the pool of blood under the old woman's head grow in size as each second passed, before sighing, shaking their head as they turned to leave.

She had debated burning the old dojo, but in the end decided not to. After all, Junko had said that it was always a good idea to leave behind evidence showing the ones you've loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Can I just admit now that I actually have fun writing Junko? I don't really enjoy her character in the games but she's sure as hell fun to write.
> 
> Also fun fact I was originally going to have Tenko's brother be the main focus of the flashbacks but I changed it because it kind of got repetitive. I truly hope you all enjoyed the changes though. Anyway, feedback is welcomed and appreciated. Have a nice morning/afternoon/evening!


End file.
